


Static On the Line

by cassiopeiasara



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Includes Canon Events, Separation to Reconciliation, Slow Burn, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-28 00:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8423671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassiopeiasara/pseuds/cassiopeiasara
Summary: In theory soulbonds can be anyone; friends, lovers or something in between. When Erin and Abby finally meet, all Erin is sure of is that having Abby in her life is better than not having her. 
Patty isn't sure she even has a soulmate and Holtz just wants to grow up and make things explode. 
Four very different women and two soulbonds that each show how good it is to know you're never alone.





	1. Satellite Call

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amtrak12](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amtrak12/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I offered to finish a story that my dear friend amtrak12 abandoned to finish a coming EPIC. Many of her original words are present here, mostly in Erin's sections. Thank you so much to her for letting me finish what she started. HUGE THANK YOU to DiNovia for lending her beta skills once again. This soulmate premise is the one where you write on your arm and whatever it is, appears on your soulmate's arm. There is also shared sensation.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and I seek no profit. Lyrics are quoted at the beginning of every chapter and I have no ownership of them either. The lovely amtrak12 named this story so the credit is not with me on that either.

 

> _This is so you know the sound_
> 
> _Of someone who loves you from the ground_
> 
> _Tonight you're not alone at all_
> 
> _This is me sending out my_ **_satellite call_**

"Satellite Call"~Sara Bareilles

Eight year old Erin goes to bed that night fully aware that the mean old neighbor lady next door isn't there anymore. She understands people die, and that other people normally feel sad when people die, but she isn't very sad tonight.

The neighbor lady was terrifying. She often glared out the window every time Erin played outside. She complained any time Erin's dog Corky barked too loud, and the Gilberts caught the lady more than once at the boundary of their yards with a ruler measuring the grass. (It always reminded Erin of evil witches in fairy tales before they plot a hex or cast a curse.)

So the night after the neighbor lady dies, Erin goes to bed relieved. No more glares, no more hexes, and no more threats to call the pound on poor Corky. Everything will be nice and happy now at her house.

Not long after she falls asleep, she jerks awake with a pain in her ears and a deep chill sweeping over her skin. Her orange nightlight next to her door is the only illumination in her room. Erin blinks against it and can only make out shadows in her groggy state. She rubs at her ears and looks around, thinking of possible explanations for what woke her.

The chill grows worse, and wispy blue light creeps over the foot of her bed. Erin shivers as the light gets biggers coalescing into a figure.

It only takes a few moments before she realizes it’s the mean old lady from next door.

She does the only logical thing she can think to do in this kind of situation.

She screams.

Her parents run into the room a minute later and flip on the light. As her vision clears, Erin notices that there doesn’t seem to be anything at the edge of her bed.

She tries to explain what she's seen, but her parents insist it’s a nightmare and tuck her back into bed.

Just when Erin calms down enough to believe them, her ears pop and the blue light is back. Erin whimpers when she sees the mean lady's face and dives quickly beneath the covers. The blue light continues to shine behind her sheet and Erin's tears fall off her chin to pool on her wrists.

* * *

Ninety miles away in Mishawaka, Indiana, Abby Yates wakes up in the middle of the night with painful crescent marks dug into her palms and a warm tingling on her wrist. Newly nine years old and never prone to nightmares, she doesn’t scream or panic. She does, however, climb out of bed and walk to her parent’s room.

"Maybe you just had your hands clenched too tight when you were asleep." Her dad reassures her as he ushers her back to bed.

Maybe, but Abby could tell the crescent-shaped marks on her palms didn't line up with her own fingernails.

"Well, who knows,” he says as he pulls up her covers and kisses her forehead, “maybe your soulmate bond came through already." He stands up and heads toward the door. "You can try writing in the morning. Right now you need to sleep."

He turns off the light and heads back to bed.

Abby counts to twenty and cocks her head to listen for any remaining footsteps.  When she hears only silence, she gets up to fetch a marker from her backpack. In the orange glow of the streetlamp outside her window, she carefully writes on her arm.

_Are you okay?_

* * *

Patty is twelve when Jimmy at eight first notices his soulbond. She tries to be happy for him and not concentrate on how just like every game they’ve ever played, Jimmy always seems to reach the finish line before her despite their age difference.

She’s good at minimizing, brushing things off like the taunts at school for her height or her reading, and especially skilled at smiling through the rejection of her first crush.

She can’t however hide from her mother’s uncanny sense of how she’s really feeling. One night after dinner, her mother pulls her into her parent’s bedroom under the guise of fixing Patty’s braids.

Adelaide Tolan smiles warmly at her little girl through the mirror as she applies oil to Patty’s scalp.

“You wanna tell me what’s wrong, baby girl?”

Patty’s eyes go wide for a moment and she tries to shake her head. “No-”

Adelaide gently holds Patty’s head. “Don’t move, baby.” She leans forward to press her cheek against Patty’s.

She tilts her head slightly and smiles again. “You can’t hide nothing from me.”

Patty is always struck by how alike they look side by side here in their reflections and when she sees pictures of the two of them. She wonders if she’ll ever be able to perfect her mother’s soft and imploring eyes. Patty is sure they would make anyone confess their deepest secrets.

Patty sighs a little and can’t help the pout that develops. “I just don’t get why Jimmy’s soulbound already came in.” She tries to leave her jealousy at how he just seems to get everything so easily out of it.

Adelaide straightens up and continues with Patty’s hair. She lets out a small laugh. “Fix that pout and you know good and well that soulbounds don’t come at the same time for everyone. Daddy was twenty-four and I was twenty-one. Grandma was thirty. You’ll get yours eventually.”

Patty deflects with conversation about her latest book, trying to ignore how right her mother is but how wrong it still feels not have her soulbond yet.

She tries all through high school. As she learns Spanish and Italian, she tries in her new languages, just in case her inclination to learn them comes from the chance her soulbound is not a native English speaker. Despite her best efforts, she gets no response.

She thinks a few times that maybe she’s like Aunt Mary, without a bond. Her mom continues to remind her every once in a while that her bond is yet to come and it helps along with Patty’s own reading on the subject.

She gives up though when she’s 26 and her latest attempt goes unanswered.

* * *

One of the first things Holtz learns in the classroom her mother has set up in the playroom is that soulbonds are a myth. (She also learns that baking soda and vinegar make the coolest sound she’s ever heard.)

She thinks she sees something appear where her soulbond would be around her tenth birthday. _Hello?_ is written in a loopy scroll that she traces three times before she asks her parents.

Her parents deny it of course and Holtz lets it go when her little sister Marian confesses that she’s written it. Her family doesn’t get out much other than their local homeschool group and her parents haven’t lied to her about anything so far. (She never knew Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny since her parents think they’re just distractions.)

Still, she sometimes feels a faint touch or caress that doesn’t seem like it comes from her environment. Eventually, she figures it’s just another thing that makes her different like how no matter how hard her sisters try to convince her, she can’t see the appeal of ever dating a boy.

She ventures to ask again at fourteen but her mother insists she’s just being silly. There is something in her mother’s expression that Holtz can’t figure out but she knows her mother is lying somehow.

Sharon tells her the truth when she comes to Holtzmann’s sixteenth birthday.

“They’re not bonded and they asked me to keep it a secret after I found Matthew and moved out.” She squeezes Holtz’s shoulder and adds, “Wait, Jilly, wait till you’re gone and then try.”

Holtz cringes at the nickname but softens it with a small smile for her favorite sister. She’ll drop _Jillian_ when she goes off to college but she’ll always remain Jilly to Sharon.

She and her siblings wear long sleeves most days and her soulmate doesn’t seem to be a night person so her promise to wait isn’t hard.

* * *

When Erin sees the words loop themselves across her skin with that terrible blue light still glowing in the background, she screams again.

Her parents tiredly calm her down again and tuck her back into bed. They tell her to wait till the morning to reply to her soulmark. Her mother sighs with worn eyes and begs her to get some sleep. Erin nods her head in agreement and even feigns closing her eyes as her parents turn off the lights.

The moment they are gone, though, she is back out of bed and digging through her backpack for a marker of her own -- orange instead of her soulmate's blue -- in order to write a reply.

_I think there's a ghost in my room_ , she writes.

_Like in your closet?_

Erin rolls her eyes and hopes she’s not being mocked. _No by my bed_

Just then, the terrifying figure of the mean neighbor lady returns, and Erin freezes in her spot on the floor. The ghost never says a word, only staring down at her. Finally, adrenaline pushes Erin to move, and she squeezes her way underneath her bed where she stays hidden until the morning sunlight begins to spill through her window.

(When she gets dressed for school that morning, she'll find questions and comments written all over her arm alternating between asking if she was okay, if the ghost had returned, and yelling at the ghost to go away.)

Her soulmate's name is Abby, and she's the only one to ever believe the ghost is real. Erin and Abby talk every day after that.

It's impossible for Erin to sleep, because every night, without fail, the ghost of her neighbor returns to her bedroom and lurks at the foot of her bed. Staring. Watching. It's just as terrifying as it was that first night, but now Erin has a secret weapon.

_Abby._

* * *

Abby goes to the library as often as someone will agree to take her and researches everything she can about ghosts. She dives into everything including how they appear, what they might do, and how to get rid of them.

She is up every night with her notes, asking Erin questions and trying her best to help her. The ghost remains but so does Abby. Never one to be deterred by failure, Abby repeats their process every night, determined to help and always be there to soothe Erin when she’s sure nothing they do will work.

Abby traces protection symbols, perfecting them so she can reproduce them in the low light of her room at night. She draws as many as she can find and writes her own reassurances below them.

_I’m always here_

_You are not alone_

_I’ll fight it for you_

Erin often answers with gratitude laced with an ever lingering fear.

_What if she never leaves?_

_Why won’t my parents believe me?_

_I’m glad you’re here_

_Thank you for not leaving_

_The kids at school found my notes. They call me Ghost Girl._

It leaves Abby frustrated for the year that the ghost remains but she presses on. She wants Erin to know that no matter what, she will never abandon her.

* * *

They are sixteen (Erin just newly so), and about to start their junior year of high school when Abby asks where exactly in Battle Creek Erin lives.

Erin furrows her brow in confusion when she reads the question.

_Why?_ She writes.

_We're moving to B.C_

_Really?_ She asks.

_Yeah, which high school do you go to?_

_Battle Creek Central_ , she writes back.

_Oh my god, it’s the same school!_

Oh my god indeed. Abby is coming here. Abby is coming here. They would be going to the same school! They would attend the same classes, see each other everyday, and interact in person.

They are going to be meeting in person. _Oh my god_ , Erin thinks.

She very nearly panics. Anxiety brews in her gut, and she focuses on her breathing along with her heartbeat until she can calm down. One of only two useful things she ever learned from therapy.

Meeting in person isn’t something they ever discuss.

At sixteen, soulmates are starting to take on all these outside pressures and expectations. In theory, soulbonds can be between anyone -- best friends, lovers, something in between or neither -- but romantic love is the only bond Erin ever saw, and all the new soulbonds at school are immediately assumed to be romantic. Erin isn’t exactly sure what that means since they’re both girls. Everyone else will assume they’ll just be best friends. They’ll also pity her for not getting a romantic soulmate, just another way she doesn’t fit.

Their parents refuse to arrange a meeting ahead of time. They want them to meet on their own at school, or so they say.

Erin's all but positive her parents still fear she and Abby will take up cultist activities or devil-worshipping and would prefer they never meet each other at all. They'll never admit it though, so Erin doesn't bring it up.

She ends up meeting Abby a week before school starts anyway.

There are three people between them in line. Erin knows this because the green star Abby drew on her forearm is clear and obvious. Her hands feel sticky with sweat as she follows the line past the yearbook pre-order table. She pretends it’s because the school hasn't turned on any air conditioning yet, but she knows it’s nerves.

Abby waits outside the door of the classroom the yearbook photographer is set up. Erin can see her shift and arch her neck around to scan the people milling about. Erin is staring a hole into the side of her head and watches as Abby's eyes flit from person to person. She is looking for her. Erin knows this, but she can't find her voice to say anything. It is lost in the dryness of her mouth, in the stuttering hollowness of her lungs where air couldn't reach.

Then Abby's eyes lock with hers. All of Erin's tension rushes her in one final surge and then it changes. It morphs into peace and ripples back out as excitement. _Happiness_.

A smile tugs at her face. Abby quirks her head a bit, and then her eyes lit up with recognition.

* * *

"Erin?"

Abby’s heart races and she thinks _finally_ as Erin laughs and nods.

Abby bounds toward her as Erin steps out of line. "Oh my god, finally!" she exclaims.

She wraps her arms around Erin and squeezes her in a strong embrace. She feels Erin squeeze back, her grip weaker but a tight squeeze nonetheless.

"Abby," Erin breathes out.

Abby smiles at the way Erin says her name, like an answered prayer.

Abby pulls back after another second. "Can you believe we're going to the same school now? How awesome is that?"

"So awesome!" Erin grins.

Abby notes that Erin has a great smile and she feels like something she didn’t even realize she needs clicks into place.

Friends aren’t exactly something she acquires in spades and though she would never willingly admit, moving to a new place and getting to know new people is a little frightening. Erin is here though and something about her presence lets Abby know she can get through this.  

She points at Erin’s stack of papers."Hey what's your class schedule look like? I'm so glad we don't have to write them out now."

"Yeah, that would've taken forever." Erin slips out her class schedule from the rest of her stack of papers.

They compare their classes and lunch periods and Abby is happy to see all the places they overlap. Erin goes a step further and also points out when they'll likely see each other in the halls. They discuss the good parking spaces and which bathroom to avoid and which clubs they might join.

"None of them?" Erin suggests.

Abby can see the fear in her eyes and presents an idea. "You know what I was thinking? We should look into starting our own club."

"A club for what?"

"All the paranormal stuff we like."

Erin hesitates for a moment and Abby takes it as a cue to continue.

"There is so much out there to learn on the subject. I mean, think about it. We're talking about everything from ghosts to fairies to Bigfoot. Though, probably not Bigfoot. I bet he's not real, but the point is we don't know for sure. If we had a club, we could get more people to help us with the research."

Erin pulls in her bottom lip for a minute before she releases it slowly. "You want to start a club for paranormal research here?" Erin said. "In my school?"

Abby winks. "Our school now.”

Erin narrows her eyebrows. "The school where everyone still shuns me for being Ghost Girl?"

Abby pats her arm. "That was in middle school. High school is much bigger. I bet we could find lots of kids who would be interested in our club."

Abby knows that this could be a lot better than Erin thinks and hopes that Erin catches a bit of her optimism. Abby thinks she could surely use it. She can tell Erin is still hesitant but she engages in discussion with Abby about possible club names.

"The Metaphysical Research-"

"Examination," Abby interrupts.

"Yes, better! The Metaphysical Examination...." Erin thinks for a moment. "We need a better word for club."

"Group," Abby suggests. She cringes and shakes her head. "No, that's worse. It's definitely not a team."

Erin claps her hands together. "Society!"

"Yes!" Abby raises her arms in the air. "Oh, that's good. The Metaphysical Examination Society. The M.E.S."

Abby is sure that High School is going to be a blast.

* * *

Patty feels like she’s cursed sometimes. She dates a few different people but is usually left for their soulmates. She reminds herself that romance isn’t everything and she continues to absorb information like a sponge. She rules out academia as an option and seeks a steady job that will at the very least, pay the bills.

She starts at the MTA sometime around her 34th birthday and if not for the bright florescent lighting, she might have missed the almost navy writing that barely shows up on her skin.

_Are you there?_ She is able to read after a few minutes.

She looks around and only finds a black marker. It’ll be hard to make out but it seems to be the only option. She shrugs and uses it anyway.

_Yes_ , she answers and like she predicts, she can barely make it out on her skin. It’s better than that dark blue though. She thinks for a moment then writes,  _You got a lighter pen?_

It’s thirty minutes later but a bright green finally shows up.

_This good?_

The handwriting is small and only passably legible but at least she can see it. She smiles and it’s like something clicks inside of her. She has a soulbound, _finally_.

_Yes_ , she writes back, _it’s good_.

* * *

Holtz is eighteen when she tries. Her roommate is out with that guy from her English lit class and she’s already rewired the T.V. twice. She doesn’t try the dining hall for company since there seems to be some sort of code everyone else knows for communicating that she can’t quite figure out yet. Thus the boredom leads to trying.

When the request for a different color comes in, she scrambles for something in the room and grabs one of her roommate’s colored gel pens. When her soulmate writes that the color is good, Holtz continues with her next question.

_Where do you live?_ She writes.

_How bout you explain what took you so long first?_

Holtz bites her lip and thinks how to explain. After contemplating an elaborate story of being raised by wolves, she settles with, _I didn’t know soulbounds were real._

_I live in New York City, greatest city in the world._

Holtz smiles for a reason she can’t explain. _Name?_

_Patty. You?_

“Patty,” she whispers and likes the way it rolls off her tongue. _Holtzmann_ , she writes back.

* * *

Writing a book is harder than Erin anticipates but the freedom of diving into their research and nights that fill with delicious takeout and conferring over theories are worth it.

Well, it’s worth it until someone snubs her at the library. It’s Marcie from high school and all of the sudden, Erin is transported back to that day all of her classmates decided to throw food at them.

Abby smiles up at her as they print the copies of their finished manuscript. Erin knows she should say she plans to leave but she smiles back and chickens out, like she always does.

* * *

_Where are you?_

_Did you get lost?_

_The interview is in five minutes Erin. Come on._

_You better have a damn good excuse._

_Why is your stuff gone?_

_Come on, I’m sorry._

_I just want to know if you’re ok._

_Erin?_

* * *

Erin isn't sure what the worst part is after she cuts off contact; Fighting the urge to write, discovering just how many freckles she has on her arm when there's no soulmarks covering them, stumbling across titles like Torbin's _Spirit Guide_ and _100 Haunted Places in America_ while searching for her grad books. She sees glimpses of Abby in everything and everyone around her. Abby is her constant and it’s hard to conceive of how to move on without her.

She finally decides that the worst part is the stray marks.

A jagged line of ink across her thumb, a smear of blue across the pinky side of her hand. Marks she doesn't realize aren't hers until soap and water can't get them off.

A partial note -- to Erin or herself, Erin never knows -- that's scribbled out almost immediately and washed away.

Sometimes a red splotch breaks out across the skin of her fingers or wrist. Uneven ovals that look like burns, and Erin remembers how Abby has a bad habit of getting worked up over something and spilling soup on herself when she moves too quickly for a notebook. The splotches of echoed burns make Erin stop breathing every time they appear. Her chest clenches, and she has to wait long minutes for the threat of tears to abate.

She has to wait much longer for those echoes to fade.

Erin throws herself into her work. It's easy to do, it's a comfort really, sliding into theories and wading through some of the biggest questions of the universe. She shifts her focus and instead of ley lines, frequencies, and predicting heat signatures, she’s diving into quantum mechanics, string theory, quarks and boson particles. She studies every report put out by CERN. She plows through equation after equation trying to make her thesis work.

And then, she graduates. She’s wearing the elaborate and colorful robes and being addressed as Dr. Erin Gilbert for the first time. It feels incredible. It feels like flying. Feels like that moment a mess of numbers and functions finally come together into something clear and brand-new before her sleep-deprived eyes.

It also feels empty.

(She knows that Abby graduated last week. She calls the school to check commencement records. They did it and she wishes not for the first time that she could figure out how to bridge the gap she’s built.)

As much as she tries to make new friends, she’s never successful. Her awkwardness is always in the way, not to mention her penchant for people pleasing. She manages a boyfriend or two (she’s really not so sure about the second guy) but the relationships are brief and the men, unsupportive, only vaguely interesting and flighty.

She keeps going though, her focus never faltering, staying true to the path that will lead her to acclaim among her peers and the recognition she always craves.

She gets accepted into a research position at Columbia University. She's also assigned a couple of classes to teach, the number of which will fluctuate over the years as research funding comes and goes.

It's the beginning of what she hopes to be a long and high-reaching career into the area of theoretical particle physics. The next few years will include publishing papers, challenging students to think and to always have proof for their arguments, and gaining the respect of more and more of her colleagues until she's recognized as one of the best, as an expert in her field.

Maybe she'll publish the next big breakthrough. Maybe she'll make a discovery that's so groundbreaking, she becomes a household name and then everyone will know who she is.

* * *

She can live without Erin, she’s sure of it.

(She does break down, a few years in, trying through their soulbond but immediately washes off what she wants to say. How do you put a few years of betrayal into words? She’s not even sure Erin would read them anyway.)

She takes that ill-fated interview as practice and she soldiers on through the work. She can keep the faith in it, it’s what she’s always been good at.

Her colleagues laugh at her research and publications but she finds professors who believe (or at the very least they can’t deny her science is solid).

She does manage to make a few friends here and there, temporary placeholders due to the transitory nature of school. They’re all nice people but Abby can’t help but compare. She goes on but the ache stays.

She perfects her game face and she knows a reputation develops that no one can break her. She’s glad for the wall it builds that protects her when all she wants to do is sob into her pillow. There is a limit; she is only human after all but she succeeds in not letting anyone know when she reaches that limit.  

She gets two master’s, her PhD and while she is elated, she can’t ignore the feeling something’s missing. A something in the shape of a lanky, awkward someone with a smile that she wants to forget but never leaves.

She accepts a position at Higgins Institute and she makes the best of it. It doesn’t have the prestige of Columbia (not that she’s checking on Erin) but she can continue her research.

Holtz is a nice perk she didn’t see coming and it feels comforting to have a lasting friendship again.

Holtz who continues to stay no matter how “crazy” other people might find her ideas. Holtz who doesn’t leave when they find taunts written on their door. Holtz becomes Abby’s new constant and she tries not to think of whose place Holtz might be taking.

* * *

She doesn’t make friends, unable to crack that unspoken code everyone else has figured out by the time she graduates. She does manage to connect somewhere though.

Dr. Gorin is impressed when she almost disintegrates an entire classroom. She takes an interest in Holtz’s ideas and she teaches her so much. (She reminds Holtz of Sharon so she lets the _Jillian_ slide).

She also gets to know Patty. She realizes Patty is easier than the people in her cohort because she doesn’t have to worry if Patty sees how much she struggles in communicating.

Holtz can’t remember everything Patty shares, she’s never been too good at that, but tidbits remain. Patty loves New York City, she reads a lot and she knows the best routes for the coolest things to see.

She’s not sure how she does it but Patty notices early in their communication that Holtz isn’t a big talker (or writer as is the case in their bonded conversations). Holtz’s answers are mostly just a few words unless Patty asks questions about her work.

She is mindlessly doodling one day, forgetting she’s using the arm that holds their soulbound.

_I like the doodles,_ appears above a cloud right after she finishes.

Holtz stops and smiles at Patty’s familiar script. She wants to respond but she can’t think what to say. An hour later, Patty sends her another message.

_You don’t always have to write. You can draw me things if it’s easier._

So Holtz sends her plans for her inventions, draws her lab, and a small caricature of herself working every once in awhile.

When she moves to New York, she draws the buildings, the city lights and a few libraries. Patty sends her facts about the things she recognizes.

_I wish I could draw like that,_ Patty often writes.

_I wish I could find the words like you_ she wants to write back but she just sends a smiley face and asks Patty what she’s currently reading. Patty’s long explanations fill up the space on her arm and like the sounds of her tools, keep her company while she works.

Like the finer details of Patty’s life, Holtz forgets a lot of what’s in these long explanations but Patty never comments when she has to repeat herself.

Abby isn’t like the last person Holtz shared lab space with. She doesn’t stare at her during long hours of silence or completely ignore her when students stop by.  

Instead, she invites her to dinner, shares ideas and laughs with her. (It takes a few times though for Holtz to realize the laughing is with and not at.)

Abby tells Holtz about Erin eventually and it’s hard to take. Holtz can’t see how anyone would ever just leave Abby but most especially she can’t understand choosing a life of boring convention when ghost hunting is an option.

Then there’s the soulmate aspect. Abby is the first person Holtz is close enough with to hear about her soulbound. (Sharon doesn’t count since Matthew has been a staple in her family for years.)

She reasons that if someone like Abby, someone good at making friends (at least by Holtz’s standards) can’t get things to work with her soulmate, what hope does she have?

_We’ll let the cosmos decide our fate,_ she writes when Patty comments how close a building Holtz draws is to her favorite bookstore.  

_What do you mean?_

_When we meet,_ she answers.

It’s thirty minutes before she has a response and she worries as she usually does that perhaps she did something wrong.

_Alright, Holtzy_

Abby sees the nickname on her arm. She smiles. “Holtzy, I like that.”

Holtz wants to tell her she can’t use it, it’s Patty’s word but Holtz doesn’t want to lose Abby, not when she is so used to having a friend so she allows the intrusion.

* * *

It takes a couple of months before Patty is able to decipher Holtzmann’s age. When the other woman mentions college, Patty wonders if it’s a first time or if Holtzmann is going back. (Lord knows Patty starts and stops her Master’s often enough.)

When she finds out it’s a traditional first time, she does the math in her head and figures exactly how many years she wasted calling out to someone who wasn’t even born yet.

She is not sure what their relationship will turn into so she decides to position herself as one of Holtzmann’s biggest cheerleaders as she continues her education. Patty sends words of encouragement before exams and praises Holtzmann as she acquires degree after degree.

Patty wonders a few times if Holtzmann will ever tire of her. Patty is content with her life and she is proud of her job but she’s not a genius like her soulmate appears to be.

Although Holtzmann’s doodles provide a good bit of information about her (she loves ramen, pringles, and explosions that sometimes have Patty question her safety), Patty can’t help but wonder what she looks like.

She doesn’t even pretend she’s not going to look her up when _Dr. Jillian Holtzmann (it’s official)_ shows up on her arm with a doodle of Holtzmann in a cap and gown.

It’s hard to find a clear picture amongst all the ones that pop up from Holtzmann’s various universities but there is one. Patty recognizes her by her hair (the one feature she always exaggerates in her doodles). She is standing behind a group of students with her glasses hanging off one ear and her head is aimed toward the sky.

Patty quirks an eyebrow at the screen. “So that’s what you look like.”

Patty feels a little like she’s cheating since they haven’t discussed meeting but she reasons Holtzmann has her full name too and could just as easily look her up.

Holtzmann doesn’t mention where she plans to go after she graduates and while Patty is curious, she doesn’t push.

Patty has brunch with her brother and niece one Sunday when he asks her why.

Patty makes a face at  two-year-old Addy who is babbling about princesses before she turns to Jimmy.

She shrugs. “Don’t want to rush it, I guess.”

Jimmy raises his eyebrows. “Rush it? Pat, you’ve waited years for this, dam...” He stops as Patty points to Addy. “I mean, dang, how can you just wait around like that?”

“It’s not some guarantee she’ll even like me.”

Jimmy laughs. “Like you? You really gotta stop sellin’ yourself short, sis.”

Patty shakes her head. “Lexi didn’t like you when you met.”

Jimmy gives her an unimpressed look that reminds her so much of their mother it hurts. “I was twenty and stupid.”

“Uh oh, Daddy said a bad word.”

Patty smiles as she moves a fry in Addy’s direction. “You’re right, honey.” She continues in a whisper Addy can’t hear, “Even if it is true.”

Jimmy rolls his eyes. “I’m just saying, you don’t got forever.”

Patty does a good job containing her excitement when Holtzmann mentions she’s moving to New York. Patty wonders if it’s an opening to bring up meeting. (It’s always hard to tell with Holtzmann)

She is too nervous to take it. She does however find the ability two years later when she mentions her favorite bookstore near a building Holtzmann has drawn.

_We’ll let the cosmos decide our fate._

Patty shakes her head and lifts it toward the sky, “You think you funny, don’t you?” There is no response but a child laughs in the park near her and she takes it as one.

After Holtzmann clarifies, she thinks of what Jimmy said. Patty knows she should take more chances but habits don’t die in a day and she agrees to Holtzmann’s terms.

When her shifts are especially long and she receives drawings of locations she knows are close to her station, she daydreams about them meeting. She doesn’t get beyond the hellos but it’s nice to have something to look forward to, something still left in her life that she has yet to experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case this is the first of my multichapter stories you're reading, I have a policy of not posting unless the story is finished, so have no fear this whole thing is complete. I will be spacing out the chapters though for readability sake. Also I earned both relationship tags so have no fear that both OTPs won't get enough story, I did my best to give time to both of them.


	2. An Open Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You'll see a lot of the movie quoted here (including a few lines and the ghost rap scene referenced from the extended version) and none of those words are mine, I just created some feelings around them. A few things have been tweaked ever so slightly to fit the AU.

> _I recall_
> 
> _A time when you and I would talk a little more_
> 
> _To each other face to face, through love and war_
> 
> _Well I hope there will always be_ **_an open door_ ** _for me_

"Open Door"~You+Me

She is teaching in the big hall today, one step closer. She is going to be remembered for all the important work she’s done. When she turns around to the man asking about her publication, she thinks perhaps it will happen sooner than she realizes.

Erin realizes quickly that this isn’t what she wants to be recognized for.

Erin stares at this man, Ed Mulgrave, who's talking about haunted mansions and clutching a book she thought was long burned and buried.

( _He's so old_ , she thinks as her brain stutters from this encounter. Like the ghost of Christmas Past come to life and just as terrifying as Erin always found that story to be.)

Somehow she completes the lecture after he leaves and then she's retreats back to her office to pull up Amazon and praying to any deity that exists that Ed Mulgrave is mistaken about the book.

_Of course he isn’t_.

A picture of Abby with her eyebrows raised over her glasses stares back at her.

She understands a need for revenge but why after so many years would Abby attempt this now? Erin doesn’t have tenure yet; she needs to change the scope of particle physics.

She feels ill. That anxious dread she always felt just before seeing her therapist, that she felt every time a classmate snickered or shouted Boo! at her, it churns in her stomach, and she really wants to be sick just to see if that would make her feel better, because surely it would. Surely physically being sick would feel better than this terrible, shaky dread that doesn't move.

Why?

She would have broken a sixteen-year silence then and there and written the question across her skin, but Dr. Filmore walks into her office, and she has to squirm and carry on a conversation all while keeping his attention directed away from her computer screen.

By the time he leaves, Erin's shock has given way to determination. He says she’s an asset to modern physics and she’ll be damned if this is her legacy. She's going to fix this. She's going to confront Abby, and she's going to make her take down the book.

Erin realizes soon enough that she should have called.

She sees Abby in some basement lab in a school she is sure no one with any merit knows of. She thinks of all the ways she could have contacted Abby; a letter, a phone call, Facebook, email or hell a carrier pigeon. Anything that isn't standing here watching Abby stare at her with that cold disdain in her eyes.

Abby still hates her.

_Abby._

Erin knows this rift between them is her fault; she has the crushing guilt in her chest to prove it. But why can't Abby just accept that this is her life now? If she still holds that grudge, why does she even care enough to attach Erin’s name to something she no longer believes in?

Erin clenches her fists as Abby calls up her Chinese restaurant to complain about her lunch order. She holds them as tight as she can and lets her fingernails dig into her skin. Can Abby still feel that? She hopes so.

"Come here often?"

Erin's heart stops. It's ten percent because she didn't know the other woman was here, and ninety percent because the woman is holding a lit blowtorch when she turns around.

Abby returns and the woman's arm gets draped over her shoulders. Erin's heart leaps into her throat.

She tries not to think of the obvious comfort between them and how that same closeness once existed between she and Abby. Maybe it's not the same though, maybe what they had can't be replicated. (Maybe she is just reaching.)

Holtzmann, this woman goes by. She is Abby's research partner, an engineer who could make all of their old theories into reality -- if such a thing is actually possible, which it's not. (She’s sure it’s not.)

Erin blames it on jealousy when she lets herself get pranked by the EVP. She's less sure who or what to blame when she's walking inside Aldridge Mansion to look for ghosts. Probably Abby's stubbornness again.

* * *

When she opens the curtain and sees Erin, she can’t breathe for a moment. She wants nothing more than to gather Erin in her arms and ask her never to leave again. She takes a deep breath, quelling that desire. Erin left and that makes Abby’s anger more than justified. She feels it seep in low in her belly then radiate throughout the rest of her body. 

The clipped “Erin,” she uses to greet her is a warning sign. Abby is not just someone Erin can storm in on with her complaints about tenure and her need to impress people Abby is sure will never give Erin what she needs.

Abby lashes out because honestly, what did Erin expect? It’s something else too, she knows. It’s relief at the chance to finally say things she’s always wanted to say. 

She is surprised when Erin follows them to the mansion. With all these years between them Abby didn't think Erin would agree to even come so quickly. She moves around with the P.K.E. meter, trying to ignore the desire to ask Erin all the questions she’s had for years. She sighs at the ache for Erin that is surprisingly still ever so present in her heart.

Maybe she can get out all the things she wants to say about the hurt and the way Erin didn’t even have the guts to say goodbye but the promise of an actual paranormal sighting throws all of that from her mind.  

Now they are about to see a real ghost and all she can feel about Erin is relief that she’s here.  Abby almost tells her that she’s thrilled to have Erin here as the ghost approaches them from the basement. (Luckily she doesn’t and she’s glad because Erin doesn’t deserve that kind of closeness now.)

Then they’re running out of the mansion and chasing an _actual_ ghost.

Erin is jumping up and down and waving her arms. It reminds Abby of the way she would get excited at solving an equation or winning a category of Jeopardy.

"What just happened? Abby, what just happened?"

Abby smiles as she continues to film her. "I'll tell you what just happened. We just saw a ghost." She wants to hide her glee but she can’t. This moment is too big.

"We saw a ghost." Erin stares, still not comprehending. "We saw a ghost!"

Then her arms are around Abby and it’s like they’re sixteen again in the hallway of B.C. Central.

"We were right; we weren't crazy!" Erin squeezes Abby harder in disbelief.

Abby almost cries as she squeezes back before they part and realize that ectoplasm is really disgusting.

* * *

Holtz doesn’t know what to make of Erin. When Abby points out that now she can work full time with them, Holtz tries very hard to stop the overwhelming urge to say no. She looks back and forth between them trying to decipher what exactly Abby sees that Holtz doesn’t.

Erin left, Holtz reminds herself constantly and they don’t really need her but Abby is so happy in a way Holtz has never seen. So she stays quiet and she follows Abby as they ask the dean for more money and lose their positions.

She doesn’t tell Abby that it seems like all Erin brings is ruin. Instead, she sets up her lab and blasts Debarge. She decides that if she can’t rid them of Erin, it’ll be fun to mess with her and dances around their space with blowtorches.

After Kevin gets up to retrieve his suitcases, Erin says, “I love North and South. Pride and Prejudice adaptations are great.”

Holtz’s head pops up in surprise. Erin gestures toward her arm. _Patty_ she thinks but she doesn’t say it to Erin.  She is still convinced they can’t trust her and Patty isn’t someone she’ll risk.

She grabs her arm and runs over to her side of the lab.

Abby comes over a few minutes later. “You ok?” Her head is tilted in concern and it's just a reminder of how much Holtz doesn't believe Erin deserves her.

She can't think of a good enough way to express that to Abby though so she deflects.

She holds up the circuit board she’s fixing. “I’m good.”

Abby smiles and moves over to Erin.

_Help me_ , she wants to write to Patty but she draws Erin as a witch instead.

_You need information on hexing people?_

Holtz laughs and writes back, _Maybe_.

* * *

Patty runs back to the platform and heads straight for her booth, she tries to calm down but all she can think is _I saw a damn ghost._

When she clocks out that afternoon, she sees a flyer for people who might be able to help. She sighs as she dresses for work the next day, leaving enough time to stop by the place from the flyer before her shift. “This is crazy,” she mutters to the mirror then heads out.  

When a witch appears on her arm, outside the chinese restaurant from the flyer, and Holtz writes back _Maybe_ , Patty thinks she might need the information just as much.

She smiles as she’s greeted by a young man in a beanie. “Hi, I’m looking for the people that posted this.” She shows him the flyer and he points upstairs.

She finds a magazine on a chair and picks it up to thumb through.

* * *

When Holtz runs away from her, Erin wonders if it’s Holtz’s soulmate that’s reading Elizabeth Gaskell.

It's none of Erin's business, obviously, but it's something people can't help but wonder when they meet someone new.

They give Kevin the job because Abby insists there's no one else available for the position. As he leaves, they notice a woman sitting at the top of the stairs reading a magazine.

"Ma'am," Abby says. "If you're waiting for take-out, you should really wait downstairs."

"Oh! Sorry." The woman stands and puts the magazine down. "I just saw the magazine and thought this might be y'all's waiting room. Hey, did you know that this was the site of the first Chinese gambling den? I mean, what a coincidence, ri--" The woman trails off as she stares at something to Erin's left. The table? Something over in Holtzmann's lab space? A box they still needed to unpack?

"Holtzmann?" the woman asks.

Okay, yes. Holtzmann is odd enough to stare at, but how did this woman know her name?

Erin watches Holtzmann's eyes grow wide like saucers. "Patty!" she shouts and nearly upends the table as she stands up. Erin and Abby both catch it and set it right.

Holtzmann looks like a non-paranormal investigator who's seen a ghost, which for Holtzmann is weird. Erin has yet to see Holtzmann stunned. Judging by Abby's confused expression, she isn’t familiar with it either.

Holtzmann fusses with her hair a bit before pulling herself together enough to walk over to the woman.

"Hi," she sticks out her hand. "Holtzmann."

The woman shakes, but she's still looking a bit stunned herself. "Yeah, baby, I know who you are. Hi."

"Hi." They continue to stare at each other.

The awkwardness, the recognition, the shock -- it's been so long since Erin witnessed this kind of moment, but it finally dawns on her what's happening. It's a first meeting between soulmates. An unplanned one too by the looks of it.

Erin nudges Abby who still looks confused. "This is Holtzmann's soulmate?"

Abby shrugs. “I guess.” There is pain in the response, pain Erin never forgets she put there.

“So what can we do for you?” Abby asks.

* * *

Patty turns slowly, confused for a moment before responding. “Uh, I got chased by a ghost.”

They follow her along the platform as she spouts off facts about the station. When they spot her usual tagger, she sighs. It’s not enough that she needs to deal with a ghost; she is stuck dealing with this fool too. Patty yanks his paint can and admonishes the trio of scientists as she leads them to where she spotted the ghost.

_A ghost_ , she thinks as she shakes her head. Honestly, what even is her life today?

Holtz smiles in her direction with her eyes wide and her head at a tilt as she readies the equipment she brought. It reminds Patty of that photo she found and she wonders if this is how Holtz always looks.

When Abby and Erin move to the place where she noticed the odd device, she offers, “That’s where I saw that weird sparking thing.”

She refrains from rolling her eyes when Holtz counters with, “What was it?”

Patty smiles at her as she replies, she should have guessed Holtz would be a smart ass. “Baby, if I knew what it was, I wouldn’t call it a weird sparking thing.”

Holtz gives her a once over and Patty ignores the shiver that runs up her spine at the gesture. “You’re mouthy; I like that.”

Patty tilts her head to ask what she thinks she’s doing with words like that when Abby calls the quirky engineer over.

Then they are trying to fight off the ghost and Patty can’t believe they haven’t even tested this shit yet. (She says a small prayer that they all don’t blow up.)

Nor can she believe herself the next day when she makes her way up their staircase again. She sets up her laptop and words appear on her arm in bright pink ink.

_I see you._

Patty turns to find Holtz leaning back in her chair. She wonders if Holtz has always been this buzzing ball of energy that never seems to tire. When she thinks back on all she knows about it, she figures it’s probably the case.

Patty smiles. “You just gonna stare at me all day or did you want to talk?”

Holtz sits up and Patty hears the chair legs hit the floor. Holtz makes her way over to the booth and hesitates.

Patty gestures towards the room. “It’s your place.”

Holtz shrugs as she sits. “Technically Erin bought it.”

Patty nods. “So y’all just go around the city chasing ghosts?”

Of all the information Patty collected about Holtzmann over the years, ghost hunting is not something she would of guessed. Then again, there is a lot about the science and mechanics Holtz does that Patty can’t figure out no matter how many engineering books she checked out from the library.

“That’s a recent development actually. We were in the planning stages before.”

Patty nods. “Pretty weird way to meet.” She gestures between them.

Holtz gives her a sly grin. “I’d say it was a dream.”

Patty laughs. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

She likes this ease between them and realizes how ridiculous her worry about how this would go was.

Footsteps sound from the bottom of the stairs and Holtz is by her side in a flash.

She whispers, “Don’t say anything and see how long it takes before they notice you’re here.” Then she’s in her chair again, leaning back with a tool in her hand.

Patty shakes her head and continues on her laptop.

* * *

Patty is pretty and smart and so much more vibrant than Holtz ever imagined. It leaves her stunned in a way that usually means she is attracted to someone. She looks at Patty as she gives a speech on the benefits of her joining their team.

Patty’s smile lights up her whole face and the sight of it causes fireworks to erupt in Holtz’s stomach. Yeah, that’s attraction.

“Guys, we got to get a car,” she offers and Patty smiles in thanks.

* * *

When Patty asks how they met, the fight isn’t mentioned and Erin gets caught up in the way Abby smiles during their high school story. She can see them again, two nerdy girls who just had each other.

As she explains what Abby meant to her, all the ways she never lost faith in Erin, she feels that old guilt hit her with the weight of all the years they spent apart. Then she feels something else. A whisper of something more than friendship and she does her best to ignore it.

When Erin finishes explaining the haunting she always tries to forget, she tries to brush things off by adding, “It was a long time ago.”

Patty hums in understanding but Holtz nods toward her and asks, “Are you leaving again?”

Her look is mostly a playful one but Erin can hear the challenge in Holtz’s voice and she doesn’t blame her for it.

Patty turns toward Holtz and narrows her eyes a little. Erin knows she’s probably thinking the question is rude.

Erin shakes her hand and waves her hand. “It’s a fair question. No, Holtz, I’m not planning on it.”

Abby returns from throwing away some plates with a picture in her hand and an old presentation. All the words flood back to Erin and she smiles as she hands the picture to Patty and Holtz.

Dancing around with Abby and explaining the barrier brings back memories of all the times they practiced in Abby’s living room.

When they clasp their hands together as they finish, Erin knows that this time she’ll be able to keep her word. She won’t leave again.

* * *

Abby cringes at the news title. _Are these Ghostbusters for real?_ She reads.

She can hear Erin freaking out behind her and a sense of dread settles in her stomach. For the first time since Erin returned, Abby worries she might leave again. There is still so much left for them to do and so much Abby still wants to say.

Then Erin moves in front of them and starts a pep talk. Abby smiles at her, so proud of Erin’s faith in them. The dread slowly gives way to hope and Abby recognizes that this is all she’s ever wanted. Erin believes just as much as she does and it feels so good to finally be on the same page. Abby doesn’t have to carry all the weight anymore.

Erin’s speech is interrupted by the phone ringing and Abby sighs with her as Kevin points to the one in the fish tank.

_Is it really so hard to try?_ she thinks.

Once they realize it’s a ghost--Erin is by her side and they’re off--Abby can’t help but feel that this is so right.

* * *

Patty’s uncle is going to kill her and stick her body in the back of this hearse for her funeral.

She groans as she climbs into the backseat. “I can’t believe what you did to this car.”

She slips into her coveralls and hands Abby her own as Erin starts to slip hers on next to Patty.

Holtz beams as she runs through a light. “I thought you liked my artistic skill.”

Patty rolls her eyes as they look at each other through the rearview mirror.

Holtz takes one hand off the wheel, reaching back for her uniform. Patty leans forward and whispers in her ear, “If you manage to get us all there without killing anybody, I’ll give it to you when we get there.”

Holtz has the audacity to pout and if Patty didn’t fear for her life, she might find it kind of cute.

* * *

As they round the trunk and Holtz slides out the proton packs, Patty lets out a small gasp.

“When did you have time to do this?”

Holtz shrugs. “I got bored waiting for pizza.”

She hands Erin and Abby their packs, which they slide on easily but Patty struggles with hers.

Holtz steps behind her and says, “Here,” as she holds the back steady and Patty slips on her straps, pulling it up as Holtz lets go.

Patty smiles when she turns. “Thanks, Holtzy.”

Holtz nods and feels a small warmth build in her chest. It’s one thing to read Patty’s endearments and quite another to hear them in person.

She is slightly worried later when the ghost plants itself on Patty’s shoulders. After Erin fails to warn her, Holtz tries but Patty stops her. She notes how calm Patty stays until they all shoot and it flies right off her.

They manage to wrangle the ghost in a trap and she smashes a guitar in celebration. It makes two things in one day that she always wanted to do.

She is thinking of all the improvements she needs to make on the ride back when she hears Erin comment.

“We should celebrate.”

Abby laughs as she agrees. “Dance party when we get back? Holtz, Patty, what do you say?”

“I’d be down with that,” states Patty.

Holtz nods.

Abby starts to blast some old tapes on their boombox when they get back and Holtz gets to work on the packs. Erin twirls Abby in the corner and Patty beams as she dances off to the side.

Patty takes a break during a slow song and comes to stand next to Holtz. “Whatcha doing?”

Patty’s proximity reminds her for the fourth time that day that Patty’s actually here. She is here to witness them put theory to practice. She is here and she doesn’t seem as bothered by Holtz as she always feared Patty might be.

Holtz grins up at her. “It’s a surprise.”

Patty smiles back as she looks down at the pack. “I’m real impressed you know. Like I knew you was smart with all those plans you sent me but I never really understood most of it. It’s cool to see it in person.”

Holtz stops for a minute. “I can always explain it to you.”

Patty leans her elbows on the table. “O.K., tell me about this ionization y’all are so excited about.”

So Holtz explains and Patty listens. Patty smiles the whole time and Holtz wonders if this is how she looked every time Holtz sent her something through their soulbond. She certainly hopes so.

Holtz worries less in Patty’s company and it is not something she would expect.

Patty points to the middle of the proton pack. “That’s a circuit board right?”

Holtz startles a little.

Patty shrugs. “I always thought those were the coolest things you drew. Well, that and you got a knack for constellations. I checked out a book on astronomy and your drawings look like you could’ve traced ‘em right out the book.”

Holtz shifts a little as she turns back to the pack. “I thought you’d like the stars.” When Patty doesn’t confirm the assumption, she adds, “You complained that the city lights hid them.”

“I love them,” Patty whispers.

Then the song changes and Patty’s off to dance again. Holtz watches her for a minute and wonders how so much joy can be bottled up in one person.

Abby comes to sit next to her and pats her arm. “Your soulmate is pretty cool.”

_Yeah she is_ , Holtz thinks and nods.

* * *

Patty moves away quickly from Kevin. He might be pretty but he holds no interest for her whatsoever. Besides, she is still amazed at the creations her soulmate continues to churn out. She moves to stand next to her again and laughs while Erin awkwardly holds on to Kevin.

“Get it,” Holtz encourages and Patty shares a smile with her. Patty could very easily get used to being here with all of them. She realizes that what’s been missing is a driving purpose. Something beyond just all that she needs to do. A quiet life is predictable and she could use something more exciting than switching up what she orders for take out on a Friday evening.

Then there’s Holtz. Patty fears for her life more now than ever but being around Holtz also makes her feel invigorated in a way she didn’t know she needed. Holtz is funny and honestly a little ridiculous (maybe more than a little) but Patty likes her. She is so much better in person.

Patty scoffs at Dr. Heiss’ entrance and lets out a small laugh when Abby insults his attire.

She hopes Erin doesn’t open that trap because she is sure only trouble can accompany that decision.  

* * *

For a moment it’s enough that they caught a ghost. It’s enough that thousands of people are there to witness it. Abby is by her side, the way it used to be. The way she couldn’t admit she wanted.

Then Dr. Heiss walks in and it’s like the past few hours disappear and she’s back to fighting for some legitimacy from the kind of people who never seem to believe her.  

She remembers she has proof and grabs the ghost trap, signaling Holtz and Patty to get ready.

She tries to stay strong with Abby pleading and are those tears in her eyes?

Erin needs this. She needs the world to believe. She needs it for so many reasons, not the least of which is she doesn’t want them to just be Ghost Girls. A joke that everyone will make for years to come.

She almost backs down from Abby’s tears and the tremble in her voice. The voice she wanted to hear for years but right now she wants to be right more and she wants people like Dr. Heiss to see it.

_I wish I could be braver_ she thinks.

* * *

_She had to do it_ , Abby thinks as the ghost flies out the window. Abby wants it to be different. She wants this to matter to Erin. She wants anything other than the need to be right to matter to Erin.

Abby doesn’t like they way they are mocked any more than Erin but if she backed down every time that happened, she wouldn’t be this far. She wishes Erin could see that for more than a moment.

As they are explain the incident to the police officer, Abby is flooded with memories of movies with Erin and she forgets for a while that she’s mad.

Abby likes their banter, this arguing pattern they started as kids that only they can follow. It is something so unique to their friendship that its return helps Abby forget for a minute that Erin ruined all the progress they made.

Abby is relieved when the mayor lets them know they can continue their work and she is elated when Erin continues to stay.

* * *

“You truly scare me, I just want you to know that.”

Holtz throws her hands up in celebration as she remembers that Patty once said that many of the things that scared her have also been the best things to happen to her. She can tell Patty is impressed and she realizes that it’s very important to her that she impresses Patty.

Patty is a natural with the ghost chipper and Holtz feels incredibly proud of her.

After they complete their second bust, and Rowan is lying dead on the floor, Patty rushes over to her.

“You o.k.?” her eyes roam over Holtz’s body as if there exists a doubt that Rowan was the one electrocuted and not her.

Holtz nods. “Yeah, I just said we were good.”

Patty throws an arm around Holtz’s shoulders and it startles her a bit. She looks up and sees the worry in Patty’s eyes. She pats her hand and reiterates, “I’m good, I promise.”

Patty nods and slips her arm away as a police officer calls over to her.

Holtz misses the warmth instantly.

* * *

_Where are you?_

_Seriously Erin?_

_You’re just going to do this again?_ She writes. It’s the first time she uses their bond since Erin came back.

As Patty hands her their gear, Abby shakes her head and mutters at her blank arm, “Of course you are.”

She’ll just have to go on without Erin, no matter how hard it hurts.

* * *

Erin sees them go down and grabs her swiss army knife as she runs toward the balloon. When the fabric pops and they all get up, Abby’s smile makes her heart clench. That whisper of something more becomes a shout.

Abby is so surprised and Erin can’t blame her since up until a few hours ago, she wasn’t too sure she’d be back.

Erin surprises herself as they fight, how did just a few weeks turn her into such a confident combatant? She loves it, though; the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction out of eliminating the malevolent entities.

And it is kind of hilarious that she beat up a pilgrim.

The moment Rowan grabs Abby, she can’t breathe. This can’t happen again, she doesn’t want to lose Abby again. (Not before she gets the chance to say that she is here for Abby as much as for herself.)

She grabs the rope and jumps. If she is not successful, at least they’ll be together, the way they are meant to be.  

* * *

It’s too much. Abby her first friend, Abby the one person she could always count on to never leave and Abby the person who just risked her life to save Holtz’s soulmate.

She stares after her, wondering how the hell she’ll survive without her. She sees a blur run beside her and suddenly Erin is diving in after her. She sees the rope pull and yells over to Patty.

“Come on,” she urges and Patty moves to pull behind her. They’ll pull them out because Holtz can’t live without her best friend. They’ll pull them out because Patty is strong and if she can pull Holtz in from a window, together they can surely pull Abby out of a vortex.

“We gotta get them out of there,” she repeats and hears Patty echo her. If not for how worried she is, she would think about how amazing it feels to have Patty just know how important this is.

When they are hurled back and the sunlight fills the street, she worries for a moment it didn’t work.

Then, there they are, falling out of the hotel doors, holding each other and she rushes toward them.

It hits her all at once. The love Erin must truly feel for Abby. A love that causes her to risk everything to save Abby. She watches them hug and she notices how warm and right it looks.

“We all did it,” Erin says.

Abby beams and Holtz is so happy for her, she feels she might burst. Kevin appears of course and though he is definitely confused about how everything went down, it fits.

They part ways as Erin offers her apartment to Abby in order to clean up. Holtz holds Abby in a tight grip, unsure she can let go but a warm hand pats her on the shoulder.

“We’ll see them tomorrow, Holtzy.”

She lets go and watches Erin throw her arm around Abby’s shoulders as they walk away. She turns and peers up at Patty.

“Cheesesteaks?”

Patty smiles. “Showers and clean clothes first.”


	3. When the City Clears

> _Remember spring swaps snow for leaves_
> 
> _You’ll be happy and wholesome again_
> 
> **_When the city clears_ ** _and the sun ascends_

"Winter Winds"~Mumford & Sons

Patty shakes a little as she peels off her uniform. It is a miracle they all survived. She moves to grab some fresh clothes from her dresser and finds a small t-shirt and shorts that will suffice for Holtz until tomorrow when they go back for her clothes.

She places the clothes on the toilet while Holtz sings some 90s Janet Jackson song and it makes Patty smile. Her soulmate is something else and Patty is incredibly thankful they found each other. More so in this moment than any other.

She steps back into her room for her own clothes. She runs her hand over their soulmark and thinks about what might have happened if they never met. Would they still write to each other? Would Patty have recognized Holtz on the T.V.? Would she have been brave enough to seek her out?

Somewhere in her musing Holtz steps out with her hair wet and the borrowed clothes barely fitting. Patty forgets how small she is.

Holtz slips on her glasses and peers up at her. “Shower’s all yours, Pats.”

Patty nods as she moves into the hallway. Holtz gently grabs her arm, the one with their connection. “You ok?”

Patty forgets that they share sensation as well as words. The concern touches her and she smiles. “I will be, just a little spooked you know?”

Holtz nods and lets her go.

* * *

Holtz runs her hand along Patty’s bookshelves as she waits. As hungry as she is, she admits she feels better after her shower. Her eyes stop on a book about astronomy.

_I checked out a book on astronomy,_ Patty told her a few days ago but as Holtz picks up the book, she can tell Patty has had it for a long time. The name Adelaide Tolan is written on the inside and Holtz tries to remember if she knows who that is.

She sits on the couch and flips through the pages. There are post-it’s written mostly in a script she doesn’t recognize but a few of them she notices are Patty’s.

She doesn’t hear the soft footsteps next to her and she jumps when she sees Patty, causing the book to fall to the floor. Patty picks it up then offers Holtz an apologetic smile.

“I lied about the book,” Patty says.

This is the thing that both delights and confuses Holtz. Patty is always so quick to explain, to apologize and she wonders if this is just who she is or a special consideration for Holtz.

She crosses her eyebrows and asks, “Why?”

Patty sighs as she sits. “It’s kinda weird to say we don’t know each other that well because that’s not true but…” she pauses and strokes the cover lovingly. “My moms is a hard subject.”

There is a pain in Patty’s eyes that Holtz wishes she knew how to heal. Holtz shakes her head and blames herself for causing that pain to rise up.

She offers an apology. “I was snooping.”

Patty smiles. “It’s ok; I don’t mind. I did invite you here.”

Holtz shrugs. “Yeah but-”

Patty reaches over and takes her hand. “I can tell you about it another time but I know you’re hungry.”

“Hmm,” mutters Holtz before she spots a bright pink marker. She holds up a finger and grabs it.

_Thank you,_ she writes.

Patty tilts her head as she looks up from reading it. “For what?”

Holtz clears her throat and opens her mouth to speak but realizes she can’t really explain it properly. She thinks for a moment then takes the marker again and doodles three scenes quickly; Patty saving her from the window, a scene from their battle, and both of them pulling the rope to save Erin and Abby.

Patty grabs her hand. “It’s nothing, baby.”

Holtz smiles and thinks _It’s everything._   

* * *

They stop at the corner store before they reach Erin’s apartment.

“You want anything to eat?” Abby asks before they part at the entrance.

Erin shakes her head. “There’s some leftovers in my fridge. What color do you want?”

Abby considers for a moment and Erin thinks about how the cute cringle that forms between Abby’s eyebrows still looks the same. “Maybe blonde? They say they have more fun.”

Erin laughs. “I could do with a little less excitement for the next few days. I’ll grab a couple of options.”

Abby nods. “And I’ll grab some M&M’s. I know you never have enough of those.”

The statement tugs at Erin’s heart and she offers a grateful smile.

When they go to pay, the cashier waves them off. “Least I can do for the ladies that saved New York.”

They thank him and make their way to Erin’s apartment. Abby showers first and Erin goes in search of clothes for her. She finds an old University of Michigan t-shirt folded neatly in a rarely used corner of her closet. Luckily, it’s clean and she knows Abby will appreciate the sentiment.

She grabs some pajama pants and places them both in the bathroom while Abby laments, “I feel like I’m going to be wiping ectoplasm from my hair for years.”

Erin laughs. “The vortex seems to have wiped mine off.”

Abby scoffs. “Lucky.”

Erin leaves her to finish and wanders into the kitchen to prepare some food. Just as she is finishing sandwiches, Abby emerges with a curious look on her face.

“How did you get this?” She is holding up a corner of the borrowed shirt.

Erin tilts her head. “What do you mean?” Erin hopes an after effect of that vortex isn’t memory loss. Why wouldn’t she have a shirt from their alma mater?

“It’s mine.”

Erin stops and takes a longer look at the shirt. Abby is right, it fits her better and Erin can’t believe she didn’t notice it was a little too big for her before.

She bits her lip. “I guess I accidentally packed it with my things.”

A long silence stretches between them and when it gets to the point of being unbearable, Erin says, “You can have it back.”

Abby nods slowly. “Tell me why,” she says simply.

Erin knows they have been heading toward this conversation. (She practiced having it enough times.) Before she can start, Abby speaks again.

She ducks her head and whispers,“Was it so horrible with me?”

Erin knits her eyebrows. “What?”

Abby settles on one of Erin’s kitchen chairs. “I know you wanted to go to parties and have better friends but I thought we were having fun together. I thought you loved our work as much as me and…” Abby pauses as she sniffles. “I just thought if it ever came down to it, you’d pick me.”

Erin feels tears start to well up in her own eyes as she sits across from Abby. She can’t believe she never told Abby how she saved her. She needs to tell her how those protection symbols kept her safe even if the ghost wasn’t swayed by them. She needs to tell her about all the times she felt she might have died in high school if it hadn’t been for Abby. She needs...she needs to say so much.

She takes Abby’s hand and tries to put all those feelings into a simple statement. “You always had so much faith in me. So much more than I ever had in myself.” She pauses and looks up at an award from a few years back. “I did love the work, Abs, I really did but I couldn’t face the next half of my life as Ghost Girl.”

Abby squeezes her hand before she lets go. “But we would have been together.”

Erin nods. “Yeah, we would have.”

A silence, a bit more comfortable takes its place between them.

Abby stares at a spot on the wall as she asks, “Will you leave again?”

Erin startles at the question because really? She _just_ rescued Abby from a vortex but then she remembers. She remembers that as grand a gesture as she made, it doesn’t prove anything and it was just yesterday when she left, again.

She scans the table for a pen and writes.

_I don’t plan to and if it takes forever to prove it to you, I’m willing._

Abby reads it, then gestures for the pen.

_No need to be dramatic_ , appears on Erin’s skin and they last two seconds gazing at each other before they burst into giggles.

“Stay here with me tonight?” Erin asks. ( _So I can keep you safe_ remains unsaid.)

Abby stops to think for a moment before she nods.

* * *

She wakes in the middle of the night, Erin's face illuminated by the glow of her phone.

She turns toward her. "Erin," she whispers. She means it like a question but it just comes out a statement of wonder at Erin's presence.

Erin gives her a gentle smile. "Sorry, I didn't think I'd wake you."

Abby shrugs. "You didn't, really. What are you looking at?"

Erin ducks her head a little. "News footage." When Abby scoffs she adds, "It doesn't feel like it really happened and it just helps."

Abby understands what she means but doesn't understand why Erin seeks proof from people who don't really know what happened.

"I feel like I got run over by a truck; that's proof enough for me," she offers.

Erin chuckles softly. “There’s some pain killers in the nightstand on your side if you need them.”

“Hmm,” Abby feels around for her glasses before Erin hands them to her. “How did you get these?”

“You fell asleep during _Labyrinth_ and I took them for you.”

There is something so achingly loving about the gesture but Abby doesn’t want to comment on it. Not yet at least. She finds the pain killers and takes a couple. She catches part of the headline in one of the articles Erin is reading and snatches the phone from her.

Erin crosses her eyebrows. “Hey!”

Abby hides the phone in the sheet behind her and laughs as Erin tries (and fails) to find it in the darkness.

“Don’t think I won’t resort to tickling, Abigail Yates!”

Abby shakes her head. “That never works.” Abby realizes her mistake as Erin raises her eyebrows in challenge.

“Oh yeah?”

Then she is laughing so hard, she can’t breathe and wow it feels so good and the relief that follows is something she didn’t know she needed.

She takes a deep breath and says, “O.K., o.k. I give.”

Erin smiles in triumph and giggles as Abby feels for her phone and hands it back.

“I missed you,” Erin whispers as she tucks in a strand of Abby’s hair.

Abby presses her cheek against Erin’s palm and smiles. “I missed you, too.”

Erin gives her a curious look before she asks, “You ever think about that kiss?”

Abby stiffens for a moment. “I didn’t think you remembered.”

Erin scoffs. “How could I forget my first kiss?”

Abby shakes her head. “It wasn’t your first.”

“It was the first that mattered,” Erin whispers and Abby can feel how close she is. “Do you think-”

Abby moves back slightly. “Erin, I can’t.”

Erin straightens and moves away. “God, Abby I’m sorry. I should have known, and then I assumed you might-”

Abby shakes her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong Erin. I just-”

“How can you say that? I did everything wrong, Abs. I’m so sorry.”

Abby can hear the tears in her voice and she closes the distance between them quickly. “It’s okay, Erin, shh, it’s okay.”

Erin’s sniffles give way to sobs and Abby quickly gathers Erin in her arms. She starts to rock her gently and Erin continues to mutter _sorry_ through her crying.

Abby knows Erin needs this so she waits until she’s calm before she asks, “Can I explain now?”

She feels Erin nod against her chest. “Yeah,” she says weakly.

Abby peers down at her and wipes at her eyes. “I can’t right now. I just got you back. I need a little time, but if you want to, I could try again later.”

“You mean it?”

Erin smiles and Abby thinks of the first time she agreed to a rom com marathon but unlike that ridiculous occasion, she doesn’t make the offer out of appeasement but of actual interest.

“Course.” She emphasizes the point with a squeeze. “Let’s get some sleep, yeah?”

Erin nods and moves away to give Abby room to lay down.

Abby seeks Erin’s hand under the covers as they settle and fall asleep with their hands still clasped together.

* * *

The night is eerily quiet for a city that is said to never sleep. Holtz counts the books on Patty’s shelf (37) and the number of odd dips in her ceiling (8) before she throws off her blanket and starts to pace.

Usually she works when she can’t sleep but she isn’t near her lab and she couldn’t resist Patty’s offer to stay. She notices a light on under the bottom of Patty’s door and knocks.

“Come in,” Patty says.

Holtz opens the door slightly and Patty is sitting on one side of her bed with a pair of purple rimmed glasses and a thick volume open across her lap.

She smiles at Holtz. “You need something, baby?”

_Baby_ , Holtz thinks. Why does Patty always call her that? She shakes her head. “Can’t sleep.”

Patty nods and pats the space next to her. “Want to join me?”

Holtz jumps on the bed and Patty giggles at her excitement. Holtz decides that there is no sweeter sound.

She leans her chin on Patty’s shoulder and asks “Whatcha reading, Patty Cakes?”

Patty rolls her eyes. “Patty Cakes?”

Holtz tilts her head. “I didn’t know that was a book.”

Patty laughs. “The book is a poetry collection. Audre Lorde.”

Holtz nods. “Your favorite?”

Patty nods. “One of ‘em.”

“Read to me?”

Patty looks at her for a moment and Holtz wonders if the request is an inappropriate one. She replays their whole exchange and thinks it isn’t a weird thing to ask but she knows her own perception can’t always be trusted.

Patty smiles eventually and asks, “You sure you’re not tired of me talkin’?”

Holtz crosses her eyebrows. “Why would I be?”

Patty shrugs. “I been told I do too much of it sometimes.”

Holtz shakes her head and scoots closer to Patty. “Nope.” She points to the page. “Read please.”

Patty laughs again. “Alright. ‘ _To go to bed and to wake up again day after day besides a woman, to lie in bed with our arms around each other and drift in and out of sleep..._ ’”

Holtz starts to trace patterns on Patty’s arm where their soulbound exists and thinks of how amazing it is that the sensations it echoes on her arm are due to her presence here with Patty. She smiles as Patty finishes the poem.

“‘ _I was discovering all the ways that love creeps into life, when two selves exist closely, when two women meet_.’” Patty’s breath hitches at the end and Holtz wonders if it’s the poem or her touch.

She hopes it’s her touch.

* * *

Patty’s cheeks warm as she reads. Holtz had to walk in on this particular passage, didn’t she?

It’s fitting in so many ways but Patty wonders if it’s just the cool down after such an emotional day. Perhaps it’s convenience that leads Holtz to her or some obligation she feels because they are soulmates.

Or just maybe Patty should stop assuming Holtz does anything she doesn’t want to.

Holtz stops touching her arm and Patty misses it immediately. She places her chin against Patty’s arm and peers up at her. It looks like she is concentrating hard on something and her silence is slightly unsettling.

“What is it?” Patty asks and curses the question for coming out so breathlessly.

“Why do you call me that?” asks Holtz, her eyes full of wonder.

Patty tilts her head. “Call you what?”

Holtz sighs. “Baby.” There is an odd reverence in the way she says it.

Patty licks her lips as she searches for an answer.

Holtz reaches up to stroke Patty’s lips with her thumb and comments, “It’s the first thing you called me besides my name. You wrote it once, after I graduated. Congrats, baby, you said.”

Patty nods. “I did.”

Holtz moves her fingers to trace Patty’s cheek. “What does it mean? You only use it for me.”

Patty clears her throat and tries to concentrate on forming some sort of coherent sentence but Holtz’s touch travels to her collarbone and her ability to think becomes greatly compromised.

She sighs and Holtz grins. She moves her hand to Patty’s other arm and brings her body closer. The movement causes that familiar shiver to run through Patty’s body. Holtz grabs her book, placing her finger on Patty’s page and places herself across Patty’s lap.

She puts a piece of paper in the book and sets it on Patty’s nightstand. Patty swallows thickly as she looks up at Holtz.

“There’s somethin’ I want it to mean,” Patty confesses.

Holtz nods and wraps her arms around Patty’s middle, bringing her face to press against Patty’s collarbone. Patty can feel Holtz’s breath against her neck as she speaks.

“What is that, Pats?”

Patty runs her hand tentatively up and down Holtz’s back and hears her let out a delighted sigh. It gives Patty the last bit of confidence she needs.

“That you’re mine.”

Holtz lifts up her head and offers Patty a grin. She nods and waggles her eyebrows. “I like that.”

There’s a purple highlighter on Patty’s nightstand that Holtz grabs and writes on the arm not connected to their soulbound.

_Patty’s_ she writes.

Patty rolls her eyes and chuckles. She takes the marker and places it back on her nightstand then takes Holtz’s face into her hands and pulls gently.

“Your baby,” Holtz whispers.

Patty smiles and nods as she presses her lips against Holtz’s.

* * *

Erin worries briefly when she wakes alone that the night before will cause an awkwardness to linger between herself and Abby. She wipes the sleep from her eyes and hears a noise in the kitchen.

She slips out of bed and finds Abby cooking eggs on her stove. Erin leans against the far counter as Abby turns to smile at her.

“Morning,” Abby greets and smiles at her.

The worry dissipates and Erin smiles back. “Morning. Sleep ok?”

Abby shrugs. “You still kick like you’re running a marathon.”

Erin scoffs and opens her mouth for a retort before she catches Abby’s playful stare. She grabs a kitchen towel and lightly hits Abby with it.

Abby laughs. “I slept fine.”

Erin nods. “Good. What time are we meeting Holtz and Patty?”

“Around lunchtime then drinks this afternoon if you’re up for it?”

Erin can tell Abby is trying to hide the worry in her voice. She smiles. “Yeah, I’m good.”

* * *

Patty helps Erin pack up her books as Abby and Holtz argue over how to transport Holtz’s more dangerous equipment.

Erin laughs at them and Patty recognizes the fond look in her eyes.

“You gonna tell her?”

Erin whips her head around and lets out a nervous laugh. “What?”

Patty smiles. “Abby. You gonna tell her you love her?”

Erin drops the book she’s holding and Abby looks over with a concerned stare. Erin shakes her head and waves a hand in dismissal. “I’m good.”

She moves to stand closer to Patty. She clears her throat and fidgets. “How did you, um,” she pauses to wipe her hands on her jeans and Patty knows it’s probably because they’re sweaty.

Patty takes pity and pats Erin’s arm. “I’m just good at readin’ people. Also you keep mooning over each other when you think the other one isn’t lookin’.”

Erin fiddles with her hair (thankfully a reasonable color now). “You think so?”

_Poor fools_ , Patty thinks. “I know so.” She picks up a box and offers, “I’ll let you think about that while I take these downstairs.”

Erin doesn’t even look at her as she nods.

Patty laughs as she makes her way downstairs. She is happy they’re moving their headquarters but she’ll miss this place not just for it’s hilarious history but also for everything it brought her in the last couple of months.

* * *

Holtz can tell something shifts between Abby and Erin but she can’t manage to unlock what it is so when Abby wanders over to talk to Erin, Holtz seeks Patty out.

“Hey Pats?” she asks as Patty wipes off the dust from the boxes she carried.

Patty smiles. “What’s up, baby?” Holtz tries to ignore the flip in her stomach at the endearment that has such weight to its meaning now. Well, maybe it always did but she is sure of it now.

She concentrates hard as Patty comes to stand next to her. Holtz would gladly wander off to a corner to kiss Patty but she is on a mission and that needs to come first no matter how good Patty looks in a t-shirt and shorts.

She gestures towards Erin and Abby. “What’s going on over there?”

Patty looks over at them for a moment before she comments, “Not much, not yet at least.”

Holtz tilts her head as she considers them. Patty’s comment doesn’t really clear anything up. “What-”

Patty presses a finger to her lips. “We can talk about it when there’s something to talk about. Why don’t you point out some of the less lethal stuff you got here and I’ll help you carry it.”

Holtz nods. Patty will explain this to her in time, she’s good like that.

* * *

Erin knows Patty isn’t wrong. She does love Abby. She loves Abby in ways she never recognized before and it makes her ache in ways she doesn’t always understand.

Abby smiles at her and Erin feels the way her insides melt. The way she always wanted to feel for the right person. She remembers her promise to give Abby time, the chance to adjust but it kills her some days not to be able to just reach out and kiss her.

She sighs as Holtz pokes Abby in the side, causing her to laugh loud and full, and butterflies to swarm in the pit of Erin’s stomach. She shakes her head and turns back to her things.

She reminds herself that waiting and trusting time is her penance for leaving in the first place (and second place before the world almost ended).

Abby pops up next to her and smiles. “You ok?”

Erin smiles back. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Abby nods. “Good.” She moves to leave but pauses and asks, “You want to come by my place later? You, uh, haven’t seen it yet and we could get take out or something.”

Erin considers her for a moment. It sounds suspiciously like a date but it’s only been a couple weeks since the vortex. Maybe Abby just wants to hang out.

She nods and smiled. “I’d like that.”

Abby smiles back, in that impossibly endearing way that showcases her dimples. “Great.”

* * *

Abby paces as she waits for Erin to show up and wonders if Erin caught her meaning. Dating isn’t really Abby’s area of expertise and this is probably the greatest leap of faith she’s taken. (Which is saying something really because Abby is an expert on leaps of faith.)

Abby realizes that while she asked for time, that might not be what she needs. She knows that as much time as she might take, she won’t truly know if she can trust Erin until she gives Erin the opportunity to let her.

Her doorbell rings and she opens the door to Erin in that brown dress she wore the day she got fired, holding a six pack of Abby’s favorite beer.

She holds it up like an offering and gives Abby a nervous smile. “I noticed you ordered it when we celebrated the other night.”

Abby smiles back. “Awesome, come in.”

She takes the beer and ushers Erin in. “I got take out from that sushi place you like.”

Erin stops at Abby’s table and fiddles with the edge of the tablecloth. “Abby?”

“Yeah,” she answers as she sets their drinks down.

“Is this a date?”

Here it is. She could take it back and Erin probably wouldn’t be mad. They do hang out all the time after all. She knows she wants this though and she needs to take this chance.

She takes a deep breath. “If you want it to be.”

Erin laughs. “You know I do.”

Abby throws her hands up and says, “Then it is.”

Erin smiles and sits. “Good.”

They chat about the new headquarters and some new research Abby is doing. When they are done eating, they head into Abby’s living room and find some old X-Files episodes to watch.

Abby grabs a marker from her end table and writes.

_You want to try that kissing thing again?_

It takes Erin a few minutes to notice since they are watching one of her favorite episodes. She smiles in that shy way Abby always loved and nods.

The ease at which they gravitate toward one another just reminds Abby that this is the right choice. Moving forward is so much better than going back.  

Erin strokes her cheek and says, “I always wanted to do this twice.”

Abby laughs and says, “I hate to break it to you Erin but dating usually involves doing this more than twice.”

Erin rolls her eyes and swallows Abby’s laughter with a kiss. Abby is delighted at how easy this is and how right it feels. It’s all at once like a warm blanket, finding the last piece of the puzzle or the perfect wonton-to-broth combination. Most of all it’s like coming home to the place she’s always longed for.

They fit and Erin stays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kind words on this story. I really hoped you enjoyed the ending. Feel free to come chat with me on tumblr (same name).


End file.
